


Ron Weasley, Matchmaker Extraordinaire

by BrandonStrayne



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Dating, F/M, Friendship, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Holidays, M/M, Misunderstandings, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 20:28:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16981266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrandonStrayne/pseuds/BrandonStrayne
Summary: Ron Weasley is a really good friend and just wants Harry to be happy, even if that means dating Draco Malfoy. Ron decides to flex his matchmaking muscles and help his friend find true love.





	Ron Weasley, Matchmaker Extraordinaire

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a cute little plot bunny that has been hopping around my head for a while now. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> I would like to thank my friends and betas [Drarryismymuse](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hatchersn/pseuds/Drarryismymuse) and [Keep_Calm_And_Expecto_Patronum](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keep_calm_and_expecto_patronum) for their help cleaning up this fic. Any remaining mistakes are my own.

Ron ran his fingers through Hermione’s hair as she lay with her head in his lap, a huge tome of a book resting open on her chest. At first, he couldn’t believe that he and Harry had let Hermione talk them into coming back to Hogwarts for their eighth year because he had been anxious to begin Auror training. Now, he couldn’t help but admit that Hermione had been right—as per usual. After a year on the run, the final battle, and all of the funerals they had in the aftermath, it was kind of nice being back at Hogwarts. It was giving them all back a sense of normalcy. The castle was still highly damaged in places, but the restoration efforts were progressing quickly and every day the castle looked more and more like it did before that fateful day in May.

Ron continued absentmindedly stroking Hermione’s hair as he looked around the common room. There was only a handful of returning eighth-year students, most of the students in their year having had no desire to return after their last year at the hands of the Carrows. Neville, Dean, and Seamus were sitting around the table with Luna who, despite being a year below them, spent as much time in the eighth year common room as all the rest of them. It was an unspoken agreement that everyone kept the fact that she slept in Neville’s room most nights quiet. Neville was helping them with their Herbology homework, a 12-inch essay on the magical properties and uses of the wiggentree.

Pansy and Blaise were wrapped around each other on one of the plush armchairs by the fire. The other inhabitants of the common room had tried to discourage the boisterous public displays for weeks but had eventually given up. Ron was pretty sure he could identify the backs of Pansy or Blaise’s heads anywhere by now.

 _I suppose I can’t really complain_ , Ron thought with a fond smile as he glanced down at Hermione, who was entranced with whatever boring magical history book she was reading now. He still couldn’t believe that Hermione Granger—the most clever, brave, and loyal witch he’d ever met—had agreed to be his girlfriend. The two of them had been inseparable since the day of the battle when they both finally realized they were acting daft and were mad for each other.

The only dark cloud over their relationship was Ron’s persistent guilt about Harry. He and Harry had been like two peas in a pod for years, and now Ron worried that Harry felt like a third wheel around him and Hermione. He’d never come out and said anything, but he seemed to be spending less and less time with them and more and more time with his new friend. Ron turned towards where Harry and Draco were sitting together, bent over a wizard’s chess table.

 _Who would have ever thought those two would become friends_ , Ron thought, shaking his head. _Life really is strange sometimes_. Ron knew it was a little unfair of him, since he spent so much time alone with Hermione now, but he was a little jealous of how much time Harry and Draco spent together. The two had some sort of dust-up during the first week of the school year—Harry had been spare about the details—which seemed to have cleared all the air between them and now they were thick as thieves.

At first, Ron thought that Draco was using Harry; the wizarding world had not been quick to forgive the Malfoys, and there were many students at the school that had lost family and friends during the Second Wizarding War that would love to take out their revenge fantasies on Ferret Face. Ron had even tried to say as much to Harry a month or so back, but Harry had politely told him to sod off and that he trusted Draco. Ron had learned to trust Harry, so he had dropped the matter. Now, as he watched the two of them, Harry beamed a bright smile at Draco as Harry’s king dropped his sword, resigning in defeat (Harry’s chess skills had not improved with all of his recent practice) and a crazy idea crossed Ron’s mind: _Harry has a crush on Draco!_

Harry had been so withdrawn over the summer, not wanting to share how he was feeling with Hermione or Ron, even though they knew that he was taking it all very hard. As often as they had contradicted him, Harry still seemed to think he needed to shoulder the blame for so many deaths. Hermione and he had been afraid that Harry would become depressed and draw away from them and they watched with futility as he marched through the procession of funerals and Ministry celebrations in a zombie-like state. They had been thrilled when Harry’s budding friendship with Draco seemed to crack the hard shell of indifference that he had built up, but it was only now, watching his best friend gaze at Draco as he reset the board, that Ron realized his friend had more than friendship on his mind.

Ron studied the pair intently. As he watched Draco shoo Harry’s hands away from the board, he noticed that the ever-present smirk on Malfoy’s face looked much more coy than patronizing now. He realized it might not be such a crazy idea after all and a plan started forming in Ron’s mind. His new mission was going to be making sure his friend got the happily ever after that he deserved.

 

***

 

“Hey, Harry, why don’t you come with us to Hogsmeade?” Ron swallowed the mouthful of eggs as his best friend took a seat on the bench opposite him in the Great Hall.

“Voyeurism isn’t really my thing, Mate.” Harry gave a playful chuckle and a shake of his head at Ron’s invitation. “If I wanted to watch you two snog, I could just hang around the common room pretty much any day of the week.”

“You can’t really blame me that my girlfriend has the most kissable lips to ever grace this planet,” Ron turned a goofy grin to Hermione, who was studying the _Daily Prophet_ and sipping coffee, but the slight pink hue that arose on her cheeks gave her away that she was listening to their conversation, as did the eye-roll he caught before they went back to scanning the page. “But I promise we’ll reign in our raging hormones for a few hours. Why don’t you ask Draco to come with us and we can double date...ugh...I mean...as friends. A double friend date! A DFD!”

Harry’s eyebrows creased and he gave Ron a confused look, but just then a voice sounded from behind him with an order to “Scoot over” and he shuffled down the bench to make room for Draco. Draco threw one leg over the bench and then leaned on Harry’s shoulder for balance as he swung the other one over, his hand slid slowly down Harry’s arm as he settled himself on the bench and began to serve himself breakfast. Unlike Harry’s plate, which was a jumbled mess of the various offerings peppered along the table, Draco proceeded to select choice morsels—the criteria discernible only to Draco himself—and placed them carefully on his plate, ensuring that each piece was segregated from the others.

Ron watched the routine, which was now both familiar and still odd, for a moment and then turned back to Harry, who was watching Draco’s selection process with a fond, sappy smile.

“Hey, Draco, I was just saying to Harry here that the four of us should head down to Hogsmeade today. Are you in?”

“If I wanted to watch you two snog each other until your lips are raw, I could do so just as easily in the common room any evening,” Draco snarked.

“That’s what I said!” Harry exclaimed, the two of them exchanging knowing smiles and an eye roll.

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, Ferret Face,” Ron joked.

Malfoy’s silver cutlery made surgically precise cuts through the banger as he turned to Ron. “Believe me, I have tried it. Some of us have been raised with enough manners to restrict our amorous activities to our own bedrooms, Weasel.”

Harry let out a choked cough and pumpkin juice went flying across the table, sprinkling the front page of Hermione’s _Daily Prophet._ Hermione’s finger pushed down the corner of the paper, revealing an amused expression and a raised eyebrow, before she carefully folded up the paper and set it aside.

“Ronald and I will find a way to control our baser instincts, if you would like to join us,” Hermione promised before finishing off the last sip of her coffee.

“What do you say, Harry? Should we task ourselves with preventing the public turpitude of these two letches today? Are we up to the challenge?”

Harry snorted, “Well I only understood about 2/3rds of those words, but if you’re asking whether I want to go to Hogsmeade with you, the answer is yes.”

“Lovely! It’s a date then.” Malfoy plunked a small nibble of sausage into his mouth as he pronounced the plans official.

Ron’s plan was proceeding to perfection.

 

***

 

Ron’s plan was never going to work!

Everything had started out fine. The four friends had left Hogwarts and had headed towards the covered bridge that led to Hogsmeade. Ron couldn’t have planned it better himself when Harry slipped on the icy boards and had gone arse over tea kettle. Malfoy had helped him up—doing an admirable job of stifling the laughter that was trying to break through (he was doing a much better job of it than Ron was) and had insisted that Harry hold onto his arm so that he wouldn’t fall again. Ron couldn’t have been happier at that moment, with Hermione on his arm and Harry on Draco’s; he was sure it was all going to work out perfectly.

The trouble had started when the quartet had run into Daphne Greengrass in Honeydukes. Harry and Draco had been perusing the selection of treats for sale when Daphne had walked by and commented, “The Glacial Snow Flakes are over there, Draco. From what I’ve heard, those are your favourite, aren’t they?”

Harry looked up at Draco in confusion, “I thought Pepper Imps were your favourite?”

“They are, Daphne’s just being a meddlin—” Draco began, before Daphne cut him off.

“No, sweetie. The Glacial Snow Flakes aren’t for him to eat. They would be for you. That cool sensation isn’t just enjoyable on your tongue, you know. It’s also quite the treat on anything that tongue may happen to be in contact with at the time.” Turning to Draco with a nasty sneer on her face, Daphne asked, “I’ll tell my sister you say hello, shall I?”

Daphne didn’t wait for Draco’s response, but rather, spun on her heel and stalked out of the store with her nose up in the air. Draco took a fortifying breath and then looked at Harry, who had fallen mute, staring ahead at the shelves of sweets. “I’m sorry about that. That was really rude of h—”

“So. You and Astoria Greengrass, huh? When did that happen?” Harry’s voice was flat and projecting an aura of disinterest, but he still wouldn’t look at Draco.

“It happened—past tense—last year. Once. It’s not a big deal,” Draco rolled his eyes, but couldn’t stop the nervous tic he had of biting on his lower lip when he was uncomfortable.

“I just don’t know why you didn’t tell me,” Harry accused.

“I didn’t tell you because it didn’t even occur to me. It doesn’t matter. It’s a non-issue. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?” Draco asked, his voice starting to betray his annoyance, his embarrassment transforming into defensiveness.

“You’re right. It isn’t a big deal. I was just off trying to stay alive in a tent, hunting down Horcruxes to try to end the reign of terror of the most evil wizard in the history of the wizarding world, and you spent that time getting laid!” Harry’s voice was laced with bitterness and more than a hint of jealousy.

Draco tossed down the package of Pepper Imps that he had been clasping in his increasingly tense fist and spun Harry around to face him. “You know what, you wanker? I’m sorry that we aren’t all the Boy Saviour. We’re not all perfect like you. Some of us make decisions and mistakes that we regret, but I’m not going to stand here and let you make me feel like shit for something as trivial as one lousy blow-job. Fuck you, Harry!”

With that, Draco let go of Harry’s arm and stomped out of the store, slamming the door as he left and setting off an angry clang of the bell over the door.

A flurry of whispers broke out between the other patrons of the shop, people casting not-so-subtle looks over at Harry as they made a show of going about their shopping. Ron approached Harry slowly and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “It’s alright, mate. He’ll get over it. Just give him some time to cool down and then apologize.”

“It might take more than an apology, Ron. He’s pretty pissed at me,” Harry lamented. “Was I a total wanker?”

“Well, you were a bit, yeah. You might have to do a bit of grovelling,” Ron gave Harry what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “If Hermione could forgive all of my wanker moments, I’m sure Draco can forgive yours. I don’t expect he’ll make it easy for you though.” With a wink, Ron leaned forward and picked up a package of Pepper Imps and handed them to Harry, “These may help your cause.”

Harry gave Ron a grateful smile and turned to head to the till. “Oh Harry!” At Ron’s call, Harry turned back around and his Seeker-quick reflexes kicked in as he caught the package of sweets that had been tossed in his direction. “Just in case!” Ron gave Harry a playful wink and Harry chuckled as he turned back towards the till to pay for the Pepper Imps and Glacial Snow Flakes.

Ron walked back over to Hermione, who was watching Harry with her brows drawn together in concern.

“Harry really has to learn to control his temper one of these days,” she remarked, slipping her fingers between Ron’s as he reached down and took her hand.

“Harry may mess up spectacularly sometimes, but he also rebounds spectacularly.” Ron gave her hand a reassuring squeeze and leaned in to graze his lips against her forehead. He had confidence that Harry would be able to salvage the situation. His plan was definitely still on.

 

***

 

Ron came barreling down the stairs from the dormitories and into the Eighth Year common room, where Draco and Harry were sitting together on the chesterfield in front of the fire. Draco was sprawled out, his back against the arm rest, with a book propped against his knees and his feet resting against Harry’s thigh. Harry sat with his head tilted back against the backrest and his eyes closed, a peaceful smile resting on his lips. At the sound of Ron’s entrance, he opened his eyes and turned his head towards his friend.

“I can’t stay cooped up inside the castle for a minute more,” Ron proclaimed dramatically. “Let’s all go outside and have a snowball fight!”

“Aren’t we getting a little old for snowball fights, Weasel?” Draco’s words suggested disinterest, but Ron noticed that he reached for his bookmark and set his book on the side table behind him.

“Come on, D. You’re never too old for snowball fights! Unless you’re just worried that we’ll beat you. Scared, Malfoy?” Harry’s taunting question was greeted with an exaggerated eye-roll from Draco, who slid his feet off the chesterfield and stood up.

“Hardly. I’ll meet you in the Entrance Hall in 20 minutes.” And with that, Draco started climbing the stairs to the dormitory.

“Come on, let’s go grab Hermione. I think she’s in the library,” Ron said as he pulled Harry, who grabbed his jacket from the coat rack as they passed, towards the fireman’s pole that functioned as the exit of their common room. This particular addition to the castle is still, by far, Ron’s favourite new feature from the rebuilding efforts. One of the Muggleborns had jokingly suggested adding it within earshot of Ron’s dad, and he had become so enamoured with the clever Muggle idea that he’d hounded McGonagall until she had consented to its installation. Ron thought it was appropriate that this would be the legacy the Weasleys would leave on the school everytime that he wrapped his legs around the pole and slid down.

They found Hermione in the library studying with Luna, Ginny and Neville, and twenty minutes later the 6 of them were standing in the Entrance Hall waiting for Draco. Suddenly Harry burst into laughter and Ron turned around to see Draco gracefully descending the grand staircase looking like a debutant, with a smug smile pasted on his face and a flashing badge on his chest.

At first, Ron thought that it was a remnant Potter Stinks! badge from their 4th year, but as Draco came up to their group, Ron could see that it was actually a new version of the badge. Malfoy’s beaming face did a slow wink as the words “Malfoy Wins!” slowly rotate around the edge of the circular badge. Then the image dissolved and was replaced by a cutout of Harry’s head which did a salacious lick of his lips before sending an air kiss at the viewer, a tiny heart-shaped burst of pink mist arising from the badge as the words “Potter Sucks” throb suggestively.

Ron turned to look at Harry and was pleased to see that he was laughing boisterously at Draco’s prank, though with a slight tinge of colour on his cheeks.

“I bet you weren’t up all night just to make that badge, were you Malfoy? Has Harry been in your wank bank since 4th year?” Ginny joked, giving Draco an exaggerated wink and prompting Harry to give her a retaliatory punch on the arm. Draco just smirked.

“Your psychological warfare isn’t going to work on me, D. I’m going to take you down so hard that your father will hear of it,” Harry vowed, one finger extended and poked into Draco’s chest, right over the badge and stabbing through the most recently puffed heart. A grin threatened to break across his lips as he attempted to maintain a stern face.

Draco’s smug smirk broke into a laugh as he pushed past Harry and led the charge out into the pristine winter wonderland.

Twenty minutes later and the lot of them were rosy-cheeked and covered in snow. Ron was hiding behind Hagrid’s hut from Hermione’s wrath—he had made the grave tactical error of pelting her in the face with a snowball early on and he'd been on the run from her magically enchanted heat-seeking snowballs ever since—when he saw Draco emerge slowly from the edge of the forest, looking from side to side and cupping a large snowball between his mittens. Suddenly, a shower of snow erupted atop Draco's head, appearing as if from nowhere, and Draco let out a long stream of expletives (that Ron was actually quite impressed Draco was familiar with) as the cold water ran down the back of his robes. A moment later, Harry's head emerged, floating in midair, and he doubled over in laughter at Draco’s reaction.

Draco seized Harry’s moment of inattentiveness and pounced, taking him down to the ground and landing atop him. Harry’s body became visible again as the invisibility cloak fell open underneath him. Draco wrestled with Harry, trying to pin his arms to the ground when Harry reached his legs up around Draco’s waist and pulled him to the side, rolling them both so that Harry sat atop Draco. Or, Ron assumed he did, as both bodies disappeared beneath Harry’s invisibility cloak once again, Malfoy’s feet and their hands the only parts remaining visible. The feet eventually stopped kicking at the snow and Ron watched avidly as Draco’s discarded snowball bobbed into the air and slid underneath the cloak. Ron glanced to their hands and though he could see that Harry had Draco’s hands pinned to the ground by the wrists, he had neglected to disarm Draco of his wand. Suddenly Harry threw himself back, scrambled to his feet, and started shaking his legs vigorously. Malfoy leaned up on his elbows and was laughing raucously at Harry’s uncomfortable jig.

“Fuck, D! That’s fucking cold!” Harry exclaimed as he continued to shake out his trouser legs.

“I’m aware. Do I need to remind you that you started it?” Draco retorted as he pulled himself up off the ground and began dusting off his robes.

“At least my snowball just went down your back! Yours went right down my arse crack!”

Draco just sniggered. “That will teach you to challenge a Slytherin. It could have been worse; at least you’re a boxer man.” Draco pointed his wand at Harry and cast a warming charm that caused Harry to stop shivering and release a sigh of relief before casting one on himself. “Come on. Let’s put that handy cloak of yours to use and team up on Granger.” Draco grabbed the front of Harry’s robes and pulled him in the direction of the castle.

Ron smiled to himself and the last thought he had before Hermione’s barrage of snowballs pelted into him was that Harry’s invisibility cloak was a lot more convenient when you were on the other side of it and that he’d give anything to know what exactly happened underneath it just now.

 

***

 

“Are you sure that you don’t want to come home with us for the hols?” Ron asked Harry, for what must have been the hundredth time. “You know that mum and dad would love to have you there.”

Harry tossed a pair of balled up socks at Ron, who stuffed it into the bag that he was packing for their holiday break. “Thanks, mate, but I promised D I would go home with him this year. He’s been nervous about going alone.”

“Why’s that?” Ron asked as he scanned the room looking to see whether he had missed packing anything.

“It’s their first Christmas without Lucius, and Narcissa is still under house arrest, so there’s not exactly a festive spirit over there.”

Ron paused his packing for a moment and turned to look at Harry. To be honest, Draco was so good at pretending everything was fine and not showing any weakness, that Ron had sort of forgot that Lucius had been sent to Azkaban for twenty years and Narcissa had been sentenced to five years of house arrest. Draco had been found not guilty when the Wizengamot had viewed his memories in a Pensieve and had determined that he had been forced to join the Death Eaters under threat of death. Draco could be a total prat, but he never wanted to kill anyone, and fortunately, the war had ended before Voldemort had made him do anything that the Wizengamot couldn’t excuse. Harry’s testimony on his and Narcissa’s behalf also certainly helped.

“We’ll miss you, but it’s good that you’ll be there for Draco.”

“Thanks for understanding, mate.” Harry stood up from the bed and dropped to his knees, reaching underneath it and pulling out a cardboard box. “Since I won’t be there, I’ll give these to you now.” Harry handed the box over to Ron. “I had Hermione help me set up an Undetectable Extension Spell on it to make it easier for you to carry, but everyone’s presents are in there.”

“I have several as well that you may as well take with you.” Harry and Ron’s heads both swivelled to the doorway, where Draco had just entered. He walked past Harry and Ron and over to his bed, in the far corner of the room, and pulled out two neatly wrapped presents from the wooden bedside table. “These are for Hermione and yourself.”

Ron was pretty sure the shock he was feeling must be written clearly all over his face at the moment, and the self-satisfied smirk on Malfoy’s face confirmed it. Ever since he had seen that Harry and Draco were growing closer and Draco was going to be featuring prominently in his life if he wanted to keep Harry in it, Ron had made a conscious effort to extend an olive branch to the prat. It had been extremely hard at first, but they had settled into a friendly banter; “Ferret Face” and “Weasel” had lost their antagonistic sting and had morphed into terms of almost-endearment. But even still, Ron had not realized that they were friendly to the point of getting each other Christmas presents.

“Thanks, Draco. I-uh...I didn’t get you anything, though.” Ron removed the lid on Harry’s box and added the two new additions.

“There’s no need. Merry Christmas, Weasel.” Draco gave Ron a mischievous smile as he walked over and sat down next to Harry on his bed.

Ron watched as Harry turned and gave Draco a warm smile, leaning back on the bed with one arm extended behind Draco’s back. Ron wondered if Harry was wishing he could wrap that arm around Draco’s back and was too nervous to make his move. Ron certainly knew that feeling. A broad grin slowly creeped up his face as he watched the two men sitting side-by-side, just a little closer than two purely platonic friends would be. “Well, actually, there is something that I’ve been working on that I think you will really like, but it’s not quite ready yet.”

Draco’s pale eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Is that so? Do tell. I’m curious to see what you think I am desirous of. My desires are...very specific.”

Harry let out a sound that was somewhere between a cough and a laugh, and Ron watched, delighted, as his friend flushed with embarrassment and Malfoy turned and gave him a heated look. “I think you’re going to like this, don’t worry,” Ron gloated as the two men sent each other heated looks.

Just to be safe, Ron made sure that there was a green and grey sweater to complement Harry’s traditional gift from the Weasley family on Christmas morning. He really wished he could have been there to see Draco’s face when he had opened that.

 

***

 

“Sending Hermione a secret valentine, mate?” Harry asked as he strolled up to Ron, who had been waiting in the long line for what felt like hours now.

Ron chuckled softly and replied, “I’ve spent enough years making a mess of things with her. I’m not going to risk making her mad by not sending her a valentine. What about you? Are you going to send a valentine to some lucky person?” Ron gave Harry a licentious wink.

Harry laughed. “Public, romantic gestures are not exactly my strong suit. I’d probably make a mess of it somehow. Anyway, I have to go or I’m going to be late for Potions and Draco will tear a strip off of me. See you later, mate!”

Ron watched Harry stride off with a devilish grin on his face.

“How many?” Ron was deep in thought and didn’t realize that he had reached the front of the line until a fifth year poked him from behind and he looked around to find the witch manning the secret valentines table looking at him expectantly.

“Three, please,” Ron said, handing over the requisite number of Knuts.

Everyone’s heads turned swiftly towards the door where a twinkling hum had begun to stream into the room from the hallway. The class watched as a flutter of glowing flitterby moths flew into the classroom, the light emitting from their wings flashing on and off as their thin wings held them aloft. Just behind them, five fairies, dressed in red and pink dresses, flew into the room as well. Their soft, melodic laughter filled the room as they flitted around before settling on the desks of five lucky students and setting down the small rolls of parchment they had carried in.

After about a minute, all of the secret valentines had been delivered and the flurry of creatures flew out of the room and off to their next stop. Ron turned to Harry to watch him unroll the small roll of parchment from his “secret valentine.” Ron tried as hard as he could to school his features as he watched Harry read the note that he had written:

Meet me in the Room of Requirement tonight at midnight.

This will be a Valentine’s Day you won’t ever forget

~Your Secret Admirer XOXOX

 

A dopey smile lit up Harry’s face before he rolled up the missive and tucked it away in the pocket of his robe. Ron was filled with excitement that his matchmaking was about to come to fruition after so many months of subtle nudges.

Later that night, right at the stroke of midnight, Ron sat at attention when the door to the Room of Requirement opened and he saw the messy brown hair of his best friend pop in the room. Good ol’ Harry. Even when he was off to meet a potential love interest, his hair still looked like he’d just been struck with lightning.

Harry looked around the room, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the low lighting of the room. Ron had requested the room be set up for romance: he was sitting on a comfy couch, just barely large enough for two people to sit together, in front of the roaring fireplace. At his feet was a soft fur rug, and beside the couch there was two crystal flues and a gleaming silver bucket with what looked like some very expensive champagne chilling in ice. Behind him there was a door leading off to a bedroom that contained an ebony fofour-postered hung with purple velvet curtains that matched the thick duvet and contrasted nicely with the silver silk sheets. A small part of him wished that he had set this up for he and Hermione, but Harry really did deserve to be happy, and he was glad that he could play a small part in pushing Harry and Draco to realise that they were meant to be so much more than just friends.

“Uh...Ron?” Ron shook himself as Harry proceeded into the room and seemed shocked and uncomfortable to find Ron there. “What are you doing here?”

Ron laughed at Harry’s obvious discomfiture. “Don’t worry, mate. It’s not me you’re here to see. I’m just...playing a cherub. Giving you a bit of a nudge in the right direction. Ah, and there he is now.”

Harry spun around to look over his shoulder, where the door to the Room of Requirement has just pushed open and Draco had strode in. Draco stopped abruptly, the smile melting off his face as he looked past Harry to see Ron in the room with them. “Weasel, what in Merlin’s name are you doing here?”

Ron threw his hands up in defence at Draco’s aggressive tone. “Don’t worry, I’m going. My part is now done and it’s up to you two from here.”

Ron gave Harry a clap on the back as he walked past him and nodded to Draco, who proceeded further into the room and over to Harry’s side, leaning in close and whispering in his ear. Ron turned around just before walking out of the room and leaving the two men to their romantic encounter. “Oh, and Draco. Sorry it took so long, but I told you you’d like your gift.”

Ron chuckled at Draco’s confused expression and closed the door behind him. He was just about to head back to the common room when another brilliant idea came to him. Harry and Draco may be using the Room of Requirement, but there was always the Prefects’ Bathroom. Ron withdrew his wand and cast, watching as his jack russell terrier Patronus pranced off. It was only a few moments later that Hermione’s otter came swimming through the wall and chastised him that it was after midnight and they have classes this morning...and that she’d meet him there in 10 minutes.

Ron grinned to himself and set off for the fifth floor, whistling the whole way.

 

***

 

Ron and Hermione were already at breakfast when Harry and Draco strode into the Great Hall together the next morning. Ron was a little disappointed to see that, to any outside observer, nothing seemed any different; they weren’t holding hands or anything.

“Sooooo...did you two have a good time last night?” Ron asked, nervous that all of his plotting had been for nothing and these two were going to stubbornly deny the chemistry between them.

“Aside from being horrified by the sight of you in the room, I was fortunately able to recover enough that we made very satisfactory use of the room. The Veuve Clicquot was particularly delicious, especially when mixed with...other things.”

Ron was just about to ask him what he meant, but at the sight of Harry’s furious blushing, he quickly decided that the less details he knew, the better. He was happy for his best friend, but that didn’t mean he needed to know the specifics. He definitely wouldn’t want Harry to be picturing how Hermione and he had put all those various nozzles of bath additives to good use last night.

“Thank Merlin we had already finished that Defence Against the Dark Arts essay that is due this morning on lethifolds, or your, frankly baffling, efforts would have been wasted,” Draco continued.

“Oh bugger! I forgot that was due this morning!” Ron quickly shovelled the rest of his scrambled eggs into his mouth and grabbed a carrot muffin from the platter in the centre of the table. Ron stood up and gathered together his things. Just before running out of the Great Hall and towards the library, he leaned over the table and addressed Draco and Harry, “I’m really happy for you Harry, and you too, Ferret Face. I’m glad I could help you two realize your feelings for each other.”

He gave first Harry and then Draco, a quick head rub, a customary Weasley family gesture, and then gave Hermione a quick peck on the lips and a promise to see them all later, then ran out of the Great Hall in the direction of the library.

Draco was still straightening his messed up hair, a disgruntled look on his face, when Harry turned a quizzical look to Hermione. “Doesn’t he realise that D and I have been dating since October?”

Hermione threw him an amused look. “Did you ever tell him you were dating?”

Harry looked puzzled for a minute, his brow scrunching up as he reviewed his memories of his interactions with Ron over the past few months. “Well...no...I guess not in so many words...but isn’t it obvious?! We spend all of our free time together, we went on that double date to Hogsmeade, I spent the holidays at D’s this year…”

Hermione held up her fingers, ticking off refutations to each of his points on them as she spoke, “You spent all your time with Ron and I before that, he specifically called it a “friend double date”, you always spent the holidays with him before, and you two have never been more than friends, and it’s not like you and Draco advertise with a lot of public displays of affection.”

Harry groaned. “I never realised that he didn’t know. I just figured that he would...you know... figure it out.”

Hermione laughed. “You two have never been particularly observant, so I’m not sure why you would figure that. Are you going to tell him?”

“I suppose we should…” Harry hedged.

“Let the Weasel have this one,” Draco said, reaching under the table and placing his hand on his boyfriend’s thigh. Harry gave him a relieved grin and a whispered “thank you” before Draco turned his attention to Hermione. “I’m surprised you didn’t realize he was up to something though.”

“Oh, I did,” Hermione declared, causing Harry’s gaze to shoot back to her and drill into hers.

“What?! Why didn’t you say anything to him?” he accused.

Hermione shrugged. “It isn’t my relationship to announce. Besides, I thought he would get on board with you two being a couple more easily if he felt like it was his idea in the first place, and, ultimately, that would make it easier for you two, so I just let his matchmaker plan play out.”

Draco looked impressed. “I can’t decide if that was very Hufflepuff of you, or very Slytherin.”

“Who says it can’t be both?” Hermione asked, one eyebrow cocked.

“You definitely have a solid streak of Slytherin in you, Granger. If I weren’t gay and Potter weren’t such a fantastic lay, Ron may have some competition.”

Hermione let out a loud bark of laughter as Harry spluttered. Draco took a moment to enjoy the chaos he had set off, and then took his boyfriend’s face in his free hand and planted a very public display of affection on his lips, smiling as Harry sighed into their kiss and whispers broke out around the Great Hall. Draco had never really thought of it before, but now he wanted to make sure that everyone knew that Harry was _his_ boyfriend, in case anyone else got any bright ideas about playing matchmaker.


End file.
